1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to head & neck rest devices, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved automotive head rest which may be adapted to a wide variety of seats and physical relationships of said seats to an ultimate user. Alternatively, the head rest may be formed as a permanent part of the seating arrangement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of automotive head rests and apparatus of this type is well known in the prior art. It may be appreciated that these devices have normally required a relatively fixed orientation to accommodate a theoretical average user of these devices. In practice, however, due to a variety of desired driving conditions based on personal preference of a user and various physical characteristics of such users, the typical head rest available in automobiles has not been adequate to accommodate actual needs. In this connection, there have been several attempts to develop head rests which may be effectively and readily accommodating of various users. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 482,520 to Field is an early example of a head rest wherein a rather elaborate pivoting relationship of a head rest relative to a seat is presented. The Field head rest, however, requires substantial and elaborate linkage and space therefore. Accordingly a device of this type is of limited value in a contemporary automotive environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 668,765 to Beach relates to a portable head rest as may be utilized with seats wherein a vertically oriented adjustable strap arrangement is securable about an upper and lower seat periphery to grasp said seat and secure said head rest thereto. The Beach construction is incompatible with contemporary seats wherein lowermost peripheries of a seat is not accessible for securement as set forth in Beach.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,056,479 to Newman presents a collapsible head rest comprising a framework securable to an upper portion of a seat by vertically positioned straps securable to a seat's lowermost periphery and as previous, each patent is again incompatible with contemporary constructions and furthermore, seats of this class do not provide a degree of adjustability enabling accommodation of varying physiques commonly found associated with the human anatomy.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,624,397 to Aubinn sets forth an adjustable head rest that clamps over an existing seat periphery but lacks the adjustment necessary in accommodation of various physiques and automotive driving situations.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,337,268 to Belk illustrates the use of a permanent adjunct head rest arrangement for use with vehicle seats wherein tubular portions are permanently attached to a rear face of an automotive seat and telescoping tubular elements are adjustable therein to provide a vertically adjustable head rest arrangement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,704 to Hildreth sets forth a head rest arrangement to accommodate a somewhat flexible back rest of a chair, such as in a wheel chair arrangement, in that a rather narrow back rest is accommodated between spaced plate portions to provide a desired head rest. The adaptability of the Hildreth reference to an automotive seat and particularly the lacking of articulation means to accommodate varying configurations and positions of a user is not available.
As such, it may be appreciated that there is a continuing need for a new and improved automotive head rest which addresses both the problem of storage, portability and accommodation of varying physical requirements, and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.